


Candied Oranges

by StopLookingHere



Series: Fifty Two Levihan Fanfictions in Fifty Two Weeks [25]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/M, Gen, Gender-Neutral Hange Zoë, Summer Solstice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-30
Updated: 2016-06-30
Packaged: 2018-07-19 04:11:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7344388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StopLookingHere/pseuds/StopLookingHere
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>25/52: summer solstice</p><p>Levi wakes up to the smell of oranges, an empty bed, and a realization that the house is way too hot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Candied Oranges

**Author's Note:**

> alright alright if you've never made candied oranges I seriously recommend them. also this is an entirely different way of celebrating that I do, and everyone has their different way of celebrating the solstice, so disclaimer this won't apply to everyone. etc etc. if you celebrate it you don't really need to be told that anyways (lol).

He wakes up to the thick, zingy smell of oranges and sweat on the top of his lip.

Levi doesn’t particularly dislike the smell of oranges, so he’s not one to complain about that part. It’s the sweat that gets him: it’s cool within the walls, and almost never reaches twenty-one degrees, so why the hell is he sweating if he’s not out in the sun on the field?

“Hange,” he calls out.  The bedsheets are cold where they usually lay. “Hange, what are you doing?”

“Come in the kitchen!” They call back. He groans, swinging his legs over the bed until he feels rough wood under his feet.

There’s a large pot that he didn’t know they owned sitting on the stove, simmering away merrily. On the counter sits a large vase of bright yellow flowers with brown centers, and the front door is open, a large rock propping it open.

Their eyes brighten like the flowers do when they see him. Their hair is tied up in a typically messy bun on their head, more of the yellow flowers adorning it. Behind them he can vaguely see a chicken baking away in the oven.

“What are you doing?” He asks finally, completely dumbfounded by the sight.

“It’s the summer solstice, Levi. The longest day of the year,” they explain. “And today, we eat.”

Levi doesn’t respond at first, but makes his way to the kitchen table, where Hange’s set out a large clear pitcher. Inside is what he assumes is tea, because it’s too light for coffee and too dark for juice. It’s lukewarm when he pours it in one of the glasses sitting there, and tastes sweet.

“Where did you read about this?” he asks finally. Hange’s frame stiffens as they ladle the water from the pot into a clean bowl, then place the boiled slices of orange on a tray.

“Erwin’s library,” they answer after a tense moment of deliberation. He sighs.

“How many times have we told you not to snoop around in his library?” Levi asks, warier than frustrated at this point in time. “It’s so dangerous for Erwin to even have those books and not get caught, but you… hell, we might even get caught doing this and they’ll ask what we’re doing. What are you going to tell them then?”

 “I’m going to tell them it’s the anniversary of when we started dating. I’m not even going to mention the books. And if they ask about all this food, I’m just trying to be a good wife, okay? Is it so hard for members of the Survey Corps to be humans and have lives?” They turn away from him, hastily taking the jar of sugar from the cabinet and liberally sprinkling it on the oranges. A luxury, sugar.

He bites the skin on the inside of his mouth before crossing the room and embracing them from behind, wrapping his arms around their midsection. 

“I’m not kissing you until you brush your teeth. Sun tea can’t cover that taste, shorty,” Hange says, shrugging him off to put the sugared oranges into the oven.

“I didn’t expect you to,” he admits. “What are those, anyways? Why oranges? And what are these flowers?”

“These are candied oranges, and those are a flower called Helianthus, also known as sunflowers. The summer solstice is about celebrating the sun and nature, and warmth, and good food. That’s why I’m doing this,” they both sit back at the kitchen table, drinking cups of sun tea and feeling the breeze from outside.

He finishes his glass of tea. “I like it. Let’s celebrate our-“ he raises his eyebrows “-dating anniversary every year.”

 


End file.
